Definition

1. Adjective:

   • Of poor quality or low standard: Something that is not good, satisfactory, or effective.
   • Harmful or undesirable: Causing harm or having negative consequences.
   • Immoral or wicked: Behaving in a way that is morally wrong or evil.
   • Not fresh or in poor condition: Especially of food, meaning spoiled or rotten.
   • Severe or serious: Used to describe something intense or grave.
   • Unfavorable or unpleasant: Producing a negative feeling or result.
   • Not valid or sound: Such as a debt that cannot be collected.

2. Adverb (Non-standard):

   • Very much; to a great degree: Used for emphasis, often informally.
   • In a severe or intense manner: Used to describe the degree of an action or feeling.

3. Noun:

   • That which is bad: Unfortunate or negative events or conditions; the negative aspect of something.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:

  • He got a bad grade on the test. (The quality of the grade was poor.)
  • Smoking is bad for your health. (It has harmful effects.)
  • She felt bad about missing the meeting. (She felt regret or sorrow.)
  • The milk has gone bad. (It is no longer fresh; it is spoiled.)
  • He has a bad headache. (The headache is severe.)
  • We had bad luck with the weather. (The luck was unfavorable.)
  • The company wrote off a bad debt. (The debt is uncollectible.)

• Adverb (Informal):

  • He wanted to win so bad. (He wanted to win very much.)
  • My arm hurts bad. (My arm hurts intensely.)

• Noun:

  • You have to take the good with the bad. (You must accept both positive and negative experiences.)

Advanced Usage

• "to feel bad about": to feel regret, guilt, or sorrow concerning something.
  • I feel bad about what I said.
• "to go bad": to spoil or become rotten (for food); to deteriorate (for a situation).
  • The fruit will go bad if you leave it in the sun.
  • Their relationship started to go bad.
• "in bad faith": with intent to deceive.
  • The contract was signed in bad faith.
• "not half bad": quite good; better than expected.
  • This cake is not half bad.

Variants and Related Words

• Badly (Adverb): The standard adverbial form.
  • He was badly injured in the accident.
  • She needs help badly.
• Badness (Noun): The state or quality of being bad.
  • The badness of the situation was clear to everyone.

Synonyms

• Adjective: Poor, terrible, awful, inferior, harmful, evil, wicked, rotten, severe, serious.
• Noun: Evil, ill, misfortune.

Antonyms

• Adjective: Good, excellent, virtuous, fresh, mild, favorable.
• Noun: Good.

Related Phrasal Verbs / Idioms

• "to be in bad shape": to be in poor physical condition or a poor state.
  • After the storm, the house was in bad shape.
• "to give someone a bad time": to criticize or trouble someone.
  • His boss gave him a bad time about the missed deadline.
• "to go from bad to worse": to deteriorate further.
  • The economic situation went from bad to worse.
• "to the bad": at a loss; in debt.
  • After the deal, he was £500 to the bad.
• "bad blood": feelings of hatred or bitterness between people.
  • There's bad blood between the two families.
• "a bad apple": one person who causes trouble or has a bad influence in a group.
  • He's the bad apple that spoils the whole team.
• "throw good money after bad": to waste more money in a hopeless attempt to recover previous losses.
  • Fixing that old car is just throwing good money after bad.

Adjective

1. not working properly
   • a bad telephone connection
   • a defective appliance
2. reproduced fraudulently
   • like a bad penny...
   • a forged twenty dollar bill
3. characterized by wickedness or immorality
   • led a very bad life
4. capable of harming
   • bad air
   • smoking is bad for you
5. physically unsound or diseased
   • has a bad back
   • a bad heart
   • bad teeth
   • an unsound limb
   • unsound teeth
6. not financially safe or secure
   • a bad investment
   • high risk investments
   • anything that promises to pay too much can't help being risky
   • speculative business enterprises
7. nonstandard
   • so-called bad grammar
8. below average in quality or performance
   • a bad chess player
   • a bad recital
9. not capable of being collected
   • a bad (or uncollectible) debt
10. feeling or expressing regret or sorrow or a sense of loss over something done or undone
    • felt regretful over his vanished youth
    • regretful over mistakes she had made
    • he felt bad about breaking the vase
11. (of foodstuffs) not in an edible or usable condition
    • bad meat
    • a refrigerator full of spoilt food
12. feeling physical discomfort or pain (`tough' is occasionally used colloquially for `bad')
    • my throat feels bad
    • she felt bad all over
    • he was feeling tough after a restless night
13. very intense
    • a bad headache
    • in a big rage
    • had a big (or bad) shock
    • a bad earthquake
    • a bad storm
14. having undesirable or negative qualities
    • a bad report card
    • his sloppy appearance made a bad impression
    • a bad little boy
    • clothes in bad shape
    • a bad cut
    • bad luck
    • the news was very bad
    • the reviews were bad
    • the pay is bad
    • it was a bad light for reading
    • the movie was a bad choice

Adverb

1. very much; strongly
   • I wanted it badly enough to work hard for it
   • the cables had sagged badly
   • they were badly in need of help
   • he wants a bicycle so bad he can taste it
2. with great intensity (`bad' is a nonstandard variant for `badly')
   • the injury hurt badly
   • the buildings were badly shaken
   • it hurts bad
   • we need water bad

Noun

1. that which is below standard or expectations as of ethics or decency
   • take the bad with the good